Victorian Valentines on display at museum

Romantics and history connoisseurs alike can take a walk through a slice of 19th-century life at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library’s annual display of historical Valentine’s Day cards,
open through March 5. This year’s show, called “Victorian Valentines: From England to America,” has 15 hand-made cards featuring lace paper, cut-out figures, simple poetry, and printed floral decorations, all hallmarks of the Victorian era. Massachusetts saw the creation of the first American Valentine’s Day card in about 1850, after a Worcester woman named Esther Allen Howland was inspired by a card sent to her from England. She eventually started a business that became the New England Valentine Co. Some of her cards are part of the display at the Scottish Rite museum at 33 Marrett Road. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.